The Secret of Avraham Avinu's Education | Parshas Vayeira in Light of Chassidus

00:00 The Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky shlita, one of the elder chassidim, relates a story from when he was a young man. His father, Reb Shmaya Krinsky a"h, was one of the Rebbe’s distinguished elder chassidim and lived in Boston. This was in 5713, in the early years of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s leadership. He relates that his father came to visit 770 in Brooklyn. They were standing outside the building, father and son talking, when suddenly the Rebbe came out of 770. The Rebbe met Reb Shmaya, who had come from Boston. Travel wasn’t so easy in those days. The Rebbe saw him, approached him, greeted him, and asked, “How are things with your most important concerns?” That was his question. Well, the chossid heard the Rebbe ask about his most important concerns and began to wonder: What are the important things the Rebbe wants to hear from me? My activities, the things I’m doing? He began thinking: What can I tell the Rebbe that concerns something important to him, something that will give him nachas? Then the Rebbe read his thoughts and said, “By ‘your most important concerns,’ I mean nachas from your children: raising them to live a life of Torah and mitzvos and bringing them to the chuppah.” So when we study the weekly parsha, Parshas Vayeira, we find that this is actually stated explicitly in a verse about Avraham Avinu. Parshas Vayeira is a wonderful parsha. Among other things, we find a remarkable verse. The time comes when Hakadosh Boruch Hu decides to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And the verse says: “And Hashem said, ‘Shall I conceal from Avraham what I am doing?’” In other words, Hakadosh Boruch Hu says to Himself: How can I conceal from Avraham Avinu what I am about to do in Sodom? After all, Avraham will surely become a great nation; he is going to become

02:21 a mighty people, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through him. “For I have known him, because he will command his children and his household after him, and they will keep the way of Hashem, to do righteousness and justice.” What is the verse saying? What is Hakadosh Boruch Hu saying about Avraham Avinu? “For I have known him.” Rashi tells us what “for I have known him” means: I hold him dear. “Known” is an expression of affection. Rashi cites verses using the word “moda,” meaning a close acquaintance, as an expression of affection. “For I have known him,” says Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Why do I hold him especially dear? Because he commands his children and his household after him, and they keep the way of Hashem, doing righteousness and justice. Of all the things Avraham Avinu did, why does Hakadosh Boruch Hu specifically emphasize his attention to, and investment in, his household, his family, their education? As the Frierdiker Rebbe says, Avraham Avinu had so many other qualities. Avraham Avinu was a man of kindness. Avraham Avinu was a holy man. He was a man of faith who spread faith and welcomed guests. In the recent parshiyos, we read the most wonderful things about Avraham Avinu, including the ten tests Hakadosh Boruch Hu put him through. Nevertheless, of all the praises, of all these things, what is the one thing the verse says here? “For I have known him.” Why do I hold him dear? “Because he will command his children and his household.” So let’s talk today about the most important subject in our lives. Our most important concerns: investing in our children. The Rebbe spoke about this so much. The subject of children’s education is what we might call preventive medicine. We live in a time when people are thinking about where to invest their energies. You’re offered a role; you find yourself at a crossroads. You have to make decisions: What am I going to do with my life? What should I invest in? Sometimes you have spare time

04:40 —where do you turn? There are so many things, so many things that need doing. Our world is full of activities of every kind: my personal service of Hashem, helping others, earning money, making a living. There are so many things we need to do. But ultimately, what is the main thing? “Because he will command his children.” The Rebbe would always speak about this. We see countries and governments everywhere investing millions of dollars in wars. Today we see enormous investment in matters of war, and in hospitals and medical centers—to help heal people and all sorts of things like that. But the Rebbe spoke about something people don’t pay enough attention to, precisely where the greatest investment should be made: what is called preventive medicine. Instead of investing in treatment after an illness has already developed, invest in preventive medicine—in making sure illnesses don’t develop in the first place. That is where the major investment belongs. The Rebbe once illustrated this with a parable: A bridge was built badly, with a flaw. They say it was a true story, and the bridge caused a great deal of harm—accidents and other problems. So a lot of money was collected to build hospitals around the bridge, where anyone injured could be treated. The foolishness of that decision is obvious. Instead of investing millions in building hospitals, straighten out the bridge, build a sound bridge, and then you won’t need to invest in hospitals. This is what the Rebbe spoke about when emphasizing the importance of education. Why don’t governments around the world recognize where the greatest investment, the greatest resources, should go? Precisely into education. Education is the best preventive medicine. If we invest in a good education, if our children receive a sound, proper education, they will know that there is justice and integrity in the world, that there is a Creator, that there is an eye that sees

06:49 and an ear that hears. When children receive a sound education at home from the outset, we don’t reach situations where we later have to search for psychologists, doctors, medicines, and all sorts of advice to help them recover—because they are healthy to begin with. And this was the great wisdom of Avraham Avinu, the first Jew. “For I have known him,” says Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Why do I hold Avraham Avinu so dear? Not because he was righteous. About Noach, for example, it says, “He was a righteous man, perfect in his generations.” Not because of Avraham’s own righteousness or holiness, or even his self-sacrifice, but because of what? Because he would command his children and his household after him. He invests in his family. What does he invest in? The Torah tells us: “And they will keep the way of Hashem, to do righteousness and justice.” Let’s look a little more closely at those words. What lies behind “they will keep the way of Hashem, to do righteousness and justice”? There is a particular message here. The verse could have said, “Keep Torah and mitzvos,” or “Keep Hashem’s laws.” No. “They will keep the way of Hashem”—an unusual expression—and then, “to do righteousness and justice.” The teachings of Chassidus offer wonderful explanations of these words. First, “the way of Hashem.” What does that mean? A way is like a road. You are in one place and want to reach another—from one city to another, from one neighborhood to another. Ways are the roads that take us from place to place. Looking at the broader picture of a large country, the roads connect its center—the capital city, the king’s palace, the royal residence—to every region, city, town, and village, even the most remote places. On roads today, we see kilometer markers. How are the kilometers counted? There is a center, and every road goes out from that center, so each kilometer receives the next number. That’s

09:06 It is measured by the distance from the capital city. So the idea of a road expresses the connection between the highest, most elevated, most central place and the most remote place. And that connection works in both directions: you can leave the king’s palace and reach a distant town, and you can also return from that distant town to the king’s city. It has to be a real road you can travel on in both directions. If a person has only a one-way ticket and no return ticket, that is not a proper journey. A good, healthy journey is one where you can both go and come back. What does all this represent in our lives? In the education we received from Avraham Avinu, our first father? A Jew’s task is “the way of Hashem.” We need to know that our lives as Jews, the Torah and mitzvos, are really a road. They are a highway connecting the highest place with the lowest place. A Jew needs to know that our soul was sent from the highest place. The soul of a Jew, as the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya, is “truly a part of G-d above.” The soul comes from the loftiest, highest place: “They dwelt there with the king in his work,” as the prophet says. The soul is with Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, and from there it descends into this world. Through learning Torah and fulfilling mitzvos, the soul’s task is to make that road. We connect the King in His palace to the most remote corner of the world, bringing Him there through Torah and mitzvos. We bring G-dly light to the darkest place in this physical world. And as we said, this has to work in both directions. A Jew has the power to sit and learn Torah, which is the wisdom and will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. “The Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are one,” as the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya. The Torah is one with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and when a Jew sits here in this physical world,

11:14 in the beis midrash, at home, in yeshivah or in shul, and learns words of Torah, he studies a dispute between Abaye and Rava. He studies a halachic matter involving two people arguing over a legal claim. He studies a dispute between Abaye and Rava. He studies a halachic matter involving two people arguing over a legal claim. He takes the wondrous wisdom of Hakadosh Boruch Hu and connects it with the lowest, most physical world—with his own mind, with the world, with the reality down here. He brings the infinite light down into this world. On the other hand, as we said, a Jew must not only bring Hakadosh Boruch Hu into the world but also raise the world toward Hakadosh Boruch Hu, sanctifying and refining physical matter. When you eat, you say a blessing beforehand and a blessing afterward; you perform a mitzvah. You take something physical from the world, refine it, elevate it, and turn it into something holy, something spiritual. You transform matter into something with spiritual form. Our task is to bring the King to a distant town and raise that distant town toward the King. And this is what Avraham Avinu calls “the way of Hashem.” The Frierdiker Rebbe also added a point here: “the way of Havayah.” Havayah is the name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu that transcends nature. It is the name of the Infinite, the name associated with miracles. The power of miracles lies in Havayah. Hakadosh Boruch Hu has many names. The name Elokim has the same numerical value as the Hebrew word for nature. There is also a “way of Elokim.” “In the beginning Elokim created”—that is Hakadosh Boruch Hu as He is enclothed in nature, concealed and contracted within nature’s garments in the creation of the world. That is the way of Elokim. But a Jew has a deeper task: the way of Havayah. To bring Havayah, to bring the Infinite, to bring what transcends nature into nature. And this is accomplished through

13:00 Torah and mitzvos. Then the verse adds: “to do righteousness and justice.” There is something special about the education Avraham Avinu gave. Avraham Avinu teaches us kindness, hospitality, and acts of kindness. Of course. That is what we see with Avraham Avinu. In the weekly parsha, we see him at the entrance to his tent, sitting and looking for guests. His tent is open on every side, open in all four directions, so that anyone who comes will have something to eat. But Avraham Avinu teaches us something distinctive about kindness. He says it is not simply tzedakah, but “righteousness and justice.” What is special about that expression? It is explained in Chassidus. There are two kinds of tzedakah. Some people, thank G-d, have plenty of money and a good livelihood. They live in wealth and comfort. After they have used their money for everything they need for themselves, and they already have two cars and two houses and all the space and possessions they want, they still have money left over. They have nothing else to do with it. So, all right, let’s give tzedakah. Let’s give it to charitable causes. The kindness comes at the end. Avraham Avinu taught us something else: “righteousness and justice.” This means tzedakah that comes from judgment. You judge for yourself what you need at a minimum. You keep only what is essential for yourself, and give everything else to tzedakah. In other words, Avraham Avinu taught that serving others through kindness does not begin only after I have satisfied all my own wants and then start looking for something to do for someone else. That is very nice, but it is not Avraham’s kindness. Avraham’s kindness comes with work, with effort, with giving up something of my own. I keep only what is essential for myself, but I give the other person everything I can. Tzedakah born of judgment, tzedakah that comes through effort, through

15:15 judgment, through personal work. Giving up something of my own for someone else. When that is our tzedakah, when that is our kindness, it is the kindness Avraham Avinu gives us, and that is what the Torah tells us in the weekly parsha: how, and to what extent, we must work and invest in education. “For I have known him”—why does Hakadosh Boruch Hu cherish Avraham Avinu so much? Because He looks at Avraham Avinu and sees a person who thinks not only about himself, his own holiness and his own spirituality, but also about “commanding” his children—a word related to tzavsa, connection. He connects himself with his children and his household after him. He thinks about his children, their education, and the next generation, so that they, too, will have that goal: that they will know the purpose of life and “keep the way of Hashem, to do righteousness and justice,” to be Jews who know what we are living for.

16:15 Jews who do not put their egos at the center, but know how to set aside their own self-interest for another Jew, to do another Jew a favor, and to make our world a road to Hashem—a connection between our world and the royal palace, with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And when we take this direction and invest in it, we will build the house of Israel. With Hashem’s help, we will raise a generation of offspring blessed by Hashem: families and families, flocks and flocks of Jews proud of Torah and mitzvos, illuminating the world and making our world more refined and purer. And may we truly merit the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, which we are all awaiting so eagerly, today, right now.